Daddy’s Home Movie Review

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IMDB: 6.2

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Will Ferrell, Linda Cardellini

Rated: PG-13 (TE, SC, L)

Genre: Comedy

Running Time: 1hr 36min

Daddy’s Home Movie Review (Released 2015)

Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg team up together in chalk and cheese roles in Daddy’s Home directed by Sean Anders and co-executive produced by Adam McKay. The McKay-Ferrell combination has done wonders on-screen before and a movie like Anchorman is a delightful example of that. The difference here is McKay did not direct this feature and that seems to have made a lot of difference. Daddy’s Home is a raunchy comic movie in similar tones as of other Will Ferrell movies. It is scripted around two main characters who are the biological and step father of two adorable kids locked by the horns in a war to institute a parental supremacy. Will Ferrell plays the docile, nerdy, kind-hearted stepfather Brad, who is trying hard to gain the love and attention of the kids while they are obstructing his ventures. This gets complicated and way more difficult as the biological father Dusty, played by Mark Wahlberg enters the plot. Dusty is a complete contrast to the submissive nature of Brad and has a macho personality and a rough adventurous charisma about him, but evidently lacks fatherhood skills.

Linda Cardellini who plays Sarah, the mother of two gets completely side-lined by the two male characters trying to assert their macho credentials. She does not have much to do in the movie other than to be concerned about the continuous failures of her husband to establish a parental supremacy. The movie starts off to a very predictable plot and sports occasional crass gags to try to establish the comic reliefs. A dreaded formula which has been time and again portrayed is the basic storyline of the movie and is more or less an extensive sketch of a single idea which makes it dreary in parts.

Having said that, both Ferrell and Wahlberg are amazing in the movie and their comic timing is impeccable. The pair has previously teamed up in a similar movie by McKay called “The Other Guys” where they played similar roles of two cops who are poles apart by personality. Needless to say the odd mismatch of the pair adds to the great comedy.

Pros & Cons

The movie has a fair share of crass content and is mostly raunchy comedy with cynical gags and unprecedented chortles. But it shares a number of positive messages too. Sarah, the mother of two leaves her ex-husband Dusty owing to his lack of parenting skills and minimal devotion to his children’s needs. For marriage she chooses Brad who is a contrast in that spectrum and is well settled, kind and takes special efforts to involve himself in any and every way possible in the children’s lives. Towards the climax, Dusty seemingly gives in and understands how important gentleness and continuous patience and attention to detail are in raising up kids. He gets how Brad fits the description of a perfect father. On the hindsight, viewers need to sit through a whole deal of forced crass gags and implied crudity for an occasional glimpse of an earnest portrayal of what being a father is all about.

Not the most original movie, but Daddy’s Home is a fun watch and has great comic moments and subtle feel good factors. Despite failing to maintain the bar as compared to other movies of its league, Daddy’s Home movie review is incomplete without acknowledging the honest efforts of the whole team involved.